Legos– Quite possibly the greatest toy brand. Until you step on one, that is. Created by a Danish carpenter in 1949, the plastic construction toys have since taken many different forms from standard buildings to dinosaurs and Harry Potter to outer space. Legos appeal to both boys and girls in the 5 to 16 age range. The fact that these little plastic bricks of wonderment have survived, nay, thrived for over 60 years just adds to the awesome. Not to mention you can make a sweet dino-space-car.

Dolls– Dolls have been around forever, and they are not going anywhere soon. Originally made from wood and other miscellaneous objects, dolls are traditionally a “girly” toy. Since the days of old, these toys have gotten increasingly lifelike. One could say they resemble real babies a little too much. Wood blocks and corn husks have since been traded out for creepy, flesh like abominations. Barbies are easily the most popular and/or recognizable doll brands of all time. Barbies can be almost anything, including a rock star or a doctor.

Action Figures– Action figures are basically dolls (FOR MEN) coined by Hasbro to help sell their renowned G.I. Joe toy line, which happens to be a war-based action figure. The feature members of the U.S. Military combating evil the American way. Action figures are not restricted to war only, they can also be based on other manly things such as movies, comic books and robots. Seriously though, do not call them dolls. They are action figures. Dolls cannot hold a little plastic gun.

Easy Bake Oven– I consider this more of a utility than a toy. It is an actual enough oven, just small enough for little baby hands. Not that you cook baby hands in it, just that people with small hands are generally the target audience. Created in 1963, the Easy Bake Oven allowed a way to bake as a child without the parent feeling bad about letting their small child bake in a real person oven. What kid doesn’t want to make some cake when he or she could be doing something like, oh, I don’t know, playing video games?

Video games– These “toys,” while not toys in the traditional sense, have risen to prominence in the past 15 years. The video game industry has come leaps and bounds since the days of Pong and the Atari 2600. When 3D graphics were introduced into games in the 90s, the popularity of home consoles skyrocketed. Video games can create an interesting world of fantastic things. With the introduction of the music game genre, players can even think they’re good at something real.